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Champion cyclist killed in South Africa

Burry Stander finished fifth at the London Olympics in August. Photo: Getty Images

Burry Stander, a two-time Olympian from South Africa and one of the world's best mountain bikers, was killed while training on Thursday when he was hit by a minbus taxi. He was 25.

The circumstances of the accident near his home in Shelley Beach, south of Durban, were still being investigated, Cycling South Africa said.

Stander competed at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, finishing fifth at the London Games. He was a former under-19 and under-23 world champion.

Champion .... Stander celebrates as he wins the men's under-23 world championship in Canberra in 2009. Photo: Getty Images

"I'm totally shattered," said Gideon Sam, president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee. He called Stander "talented, ultra-competitive but at the same time extremely humble and a true gentleman."

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Stander's death prompted a flood of tributes on social media from South African athletes, politicians and celebrities.

Oscar Pistorius, the double-amputee Olympic runner and multiple Paralympic medalist, said on Twitter he was "utterly devastated."